Urinary incontinence is the loss of voluntary control to retain urine. Urinary incontinence may be the result of a number of causes, such as old age, disease, pregnancy or trauma. Some patients, especially women, may experience urinary incontinence during stressful events, such as sneezing, laughing, coughing, lifting, or other activity that puts pressure on the bladder.
Some patients suffering from urinary incontinence may deal with the condition by conservative measures, such as performing exercises to strengthen the outer urethral sphincter. For some patients, however, such conservative measures are ineffective. In a healthy human being, the internal and external urethral sphincters contract to prevent the escape of urine, the external sphincter being under the voluntary control of the patient. In some patients, however, the patient may have some control over the external sphincter, but one or both sphincters lack sufficient bulk to maintain closure of the urethra and prevent the escape of urine.
There have been many approaches addressing urinary incontinence. Some approaches manage urine that has been released, but other approaches seek to help the patient prevent release by electrical and/or mechanical processes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,991 to Gross, for example, describes a system that uses electrodes to detect abdominal stress and to stimulate muscles associated with urine control. Other approaches have involved augmentation of tissues that allow the patient to resist urine flow. U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,392 to Klein, for example, discloses an injectable augmentation composition. U.S. Pat. No. 6,592,859 to Bley describes small solid polymer particles that are injected into tissue and swell following implantation.
Table 1 below lists documents that disclose some of the many techniques for addressing urinary incontinence.
TABLE 1Patent NumberInventorsTitle6,635,037BennettMale Urinary Incontinence Device6,605,097Lehe et al.Apparatus and Method for TreatingFemale Urinary Incontinence6,592,859BleyControlled expansion SphincterAugmentation Media6,354,991Gross et al.Incontinence Treatment Device6,277,392KleinTissue Injectable Composition6,231,613Greff et al.Methods for Soft Tissue Augmentationin Mammals
All documents listed in Table 1 above are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their respective entireties. As those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate readily upon reading the Summary of the Invention, Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and Claims set forth below, many of the devices and methods disclosed in the patents of Table 1 may be modified advantageously by using the techniques of the present invention.